(NEW YORK) — In a sea of quality job candidates, you need to make sure your resume is up to snuff and easily skimmable for recruiters to quickly decide to pull yours from the pile.
It can take just six seconds to make an impression with your resume, according to The Wall Street Journal, which spoke to a career coach executive.
ABC News Chief Business Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis shared a few tips that can help make your resume stand out:
Change the bio paragraph into a punchy headline
First, Jarvis suggested swapping that professional statement for a one-line headline.
The days of including a short paragraph to summarize your experience, skills and achievements are gone. Instead, create a headline that will match the role you are applying for.
In the past, a resume might have included something that looks like this: “Sales manager with a decade of experience. … Eager for an opportunity to bring my experience leading a team and launching successful campaigns to market a valuable product.”
The new update for a similar resume should simply state: “Senior software sales manager.”
Trim your work experience
For applicants with a range of work experience, think about altering it for the job you’re applying for and cut out any irrelevant experience to help give hiring managers a clearer understanding of how you’ll fit into the job.
Jarvis explained that you don’t need to pack your resume with every job you’ve ever had, but focus on relevant work history. Customize your resume a bit for the job you’re seeking. Pointing out twists and turns in a career can make some experts think you might be overqualified, which can exclude you early on. Make the resume make sense to help get your foot in the door to sell yourself.
Basic do’s and don’ts to keep in mind
- Do: Update your LinkedIn profile.
- Do: Brush up on your interview skills.
- Do: Take advantage of LinkedIn features and make sure you’re active on the site. For example, Jarvis suggested changing key words in your profile every two weeks to prompt the algorithm to scan your profile and thus help keep you at the top of searches.
- Don’t: Experts warn against using the “open to work” banner to avoid discrimination against people between jobs.
- Don’t: Use ChatGPT or artificial intelligence to write your resume.
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